Mandy Moore Says the Next This Is Us Is “Even More Heartbreaking” Than Sunday’s

This Is Us reduced its fan base to a salty puddle of tears with Sunday’s devastating installment. Let’s hope they’ve solidified by Tuesday—because the next episode, by all accounts, is going to destroy them all over again. Perhaps start lining the floors with Kleenex now?

The drama’s most recent episode, “Super Bowl Sunday,” finally revealed both the exact circumstances surrounding Jack’s death and Rebecca’s effort to hold things together for their children after his shocking demise. But according to both Milo Ventimiglia and Mandy Moore, the Pearson matriarch is going to have a particularly rough time come Tuesday night.

“We have another episode on Tuesday,” Moore reminded Hoda Kotb on Monday’s Today show, “and it’s, I dare say, even more heartbreaking.” Specifically, it seems Tuesday’s installment will be a rough one for Rebecca. As Ventimiglia put it to Esquire, “I tell you, next week: Mandy Moore. She really goes through it in the next episode.”

Before Sunday’s episode aired, the cast had already gathered at creator Dan Fogelman’s house to watch it together. By the time the credits rolled, Moore said on Today, “none of us could speak afterward. We were sort of speechless. And then we were recounting some of our favorite parts of the episode, our favorite lines, and we would all start crying.”

Moore and Ventimiglia both point out that the cast has known how Jack would die since Season 1, when Fogelman said that he met his end during a house fire—but didn’t specify when, why, or how, exactly. “We slowly learned about these other little things,” Ventimiglia said. “Randall’s girlfriend, Kevin’s broken leg, Kate’s dog—that were going to tip off the audience, and once we got into the second season, it was kind of a harrowing thing to just keep everything under wraps.” Now that the secret’s out, Moore told Today that the cast is “tremendously relieved . . . It’s just nice to pop that bubble a little bit. And now we can sort of move forward with the show and answer more pressing questions as well.”

Naturally, fans shouldn’t expect Jack to leave their screens any time soon. Ventimiglia noted that many questions about his character remain unanswered: “his upbringing, what happened to him in Vietnam, what happened to him after Vietnam before he met Rebecca? And those early days of Jack and Rebecca, I know is an era that Dan is excited to explore. His brother, I think is something that’s going to come up relatively quickly, and play out over the next season or so. There’s still so much to know about this man, from all the eras—so I’m excited to focus on how Jack lived as opposed to worrying about how he died.”

Westworld (Season 2)

HBO is once again hoping you’ll ignore the big Game of Thrones-shaped hole in its schedule and turn your attention back to the sci-fi mind game that is Westworld. The Emmy-nominated series, starring Evan Rachel Wood and Thandie Newton, is ready to confound you once again in its second season. Until its spring 2018 premiere, take a trip back in time and revisit nine burning questions we still have about the finale.

Photo: By John P. Johnson/HBO.

Grown-ish

Yara Shahidi takes the lead in this youthful Black-ish spin-off set to air on Freeform starting Jan. 3, 2018. In this series, Zoey is finally off to college, stumbling through cringeworthy rites of passage like embarrassing herself at a frat party and hiding secrets from her parents.

Photo: By Eric Liebowitz/Freeform.

Superhero Smorgasbord

Every superhero you love is coming out with a new movie in 2018. In no particular order, get ready for a bounty that includes: Black Panther,Avengers: Infinity War,Deadpool 2,The New Mutants,X-Men: Dark Phoenix,Ant-Man and the Wasp,Venom, and Aquaman.

The Winter Olympics

’Tis the season to watch a bunch of perfect human specimens fight for tiny gold medallions. This year’s Winter Olympics will kick off on Feb. 9, 2018 in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Photo: By Julian Finney/Getty Images.

The Chi

After breaking out on Master of None and winning a historic Emmy for one of this year’s best TV episodes, Lena Waithe is ready to claim her spot in the prestige-TV realm. Enter The Chi, her Showtime series about young people coming of age in Chicago, set to premiere on Jan. 7.

Photo: By Matt Dinerstein/SHOWTIME.

A Wrinkle in Time

The classic Madeleine L’Engle tale is finally coming to the big screen on March 9, 2018, thanks to Disney and director Ava DuVernay. The sci-fi story about a girl tesseracting her way through time to find her missing father will star newcomer Storm Reid alongside stars like Oprah Winfrey,Mindy Kaling,Reese Witherspoon, and Chris Pine.

Photo: By Atsushi Nishijima/Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios.

Solo: A Star Wars Story

After some catastrophic ups and downs, Han Solo’s origin story will finally be revealed to us on May 25, 2018. The Star Wars spin-off stars Alden Ehrenreich as the galactic smuggler and also features Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian and Emilia Clarke playing a mysterious character named Kira.

Photo: From Lucasfilm Ltd./Everett Collection.

Westworld (Season 2)

HBO is once again hoping you’ll ignore the big Game of Thrones-shaped hole in its schedule and turn your attention back to the sci-fi mind game that is Westworld. The Emmy-nominated series, starring Evan Rachel Wood and Thandie Newton, is ready to confound you once again in its second season. Until its spring 2018 premiere, take a trip back in time and revisit nine burning questions we still have about the finale.

By John P. Johnson/HBO.

Grown-ish

Yara Shahidi takes the lead in this youthful Black-ish spin-off set to air on Freeform starting Jan. 3, 2018. In this series, Zoey is finally off to college, stumbling through cringeworthy rites of passage like embarrassing herself at a frat party and hiding secrets from her parents.

By Eric Liebowitz/Freeform.

Superhero Smorgasbord

Every superhero you love is coming out with a new movie in 2018. In no particular order, get ready for a bounty that includes: Black Panther,Avengers: Infinity War,Deadpool 2,The New Mutants,X-Men: Dark Phoenix,Ant-Man and the Wasp,Venom, and Aquaman.

The Winter Olympics

’Tis the season to watch a bunch of perfect human specimens fight for tiny gold medallions. This year’s Winter Olympics will kick off on Feb. 9, 2018 in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

By Julian Finney/Getty Images.

Black Klansman

If the title alone doesn’t catch your eye, the artists behind it surely will. Spike Lee is directing this thriller, produced by nascent horror maestro Jordan Peele, about a black detective who infiltrates the KKK in the 1970s. John David Washington (son of Denzel) plays the lead, while the rest of the cast includes Adam Driver and rising star Laura Harrier.Black Klansman does not yet have a release date.

Left, by Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic; Right, by Kevin Mazur/WireImage.

The Incredibles 2

This superhero movie, which hits theaters on June 15, 2018, gets its own slide—because fans have been waiting for this sequel for 13 years. At long last, the Parr family is back fighting crime, with a little help from close friend Frozone (voiced by Samuel L. Jackson). It’s time to find your supersuit—and remember, no capes!

Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios.

The Happytime Murders

Brian Henson’s (son of Jim) dark detective twist on the pleasant world of puppetry promises to be a baffling pop-cultural delight in the vein of Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Humans and puppets coexist in this dark tale about a serial killer who’s out to murder the stars of hit 80s series The Happytime Gang. The cast is stacked with comedy stars, led by Melissa McCarthy,Maya Rudolph, and Elizabeth Banks. The film will hit theaters on Aug. 17, 2018.

Jessica Jones (Season 2)

Everyone’s favorite grouchy, hard-drinking superhero is finally back for a second season on March 8, with Krysten Ritter slipping on the familiar leather jacket for Jones’s latest adventures. Though the plot is still fairly under wraps, a teaser trailer promises that she’s still a sardonic and deliciously violent destroyer of men.

By Myles Aronowitz/Netflix.

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again

My, my, how can you resist this? The sequel to the 2008 blockbuster musical is finally on its way, and it’s already guaranteed to be your favorite guilty pleasure of 2018. The story is a prequel to the original, revolving around Meryl Streep’s character when she was a young woman (perhaps even . . . a young dancing queen). Not only is its core cast back in action, but the truly iconic Cher has decided to bless the sequel with her presence. Catch it in theaters on July 20, 2018.

Roseanne

Break out your flannel and sarcasm, because Roseanne is back. The classic 90s sitcom is getting the nostalgia reboot treatment on March 27, more than 20 years after it first ended.

From ABC.

Ocean’s 8

The all-female Ocean’s 11 reboot is easily one of the most anticipated films of the year, not least because of its excellent cast (Rihanna!Sandra Bullock!Cate Blanchett!). The glitzy heist movie revolves around the Met Gala, promising a coterie of celeb cameos, and is slated to hit theaters on June 8, 2018. Satiate yourself until then by re-watching the perfect trailer.

By Barry Wetcher/Warner Bros.

The Assassination of Gianni Versace

We may be in the midst of a true-crime revival, but few productions promise to be as opulent as this Ryan Murphy mini-series. The horrifying true story about the murder of fashion icon Gianni Versace will be retold with a stellar cast that includes Édgar Ramírez as Versace himself, Penélope Cruz as his sister Donatella, and Ricky Martin as Versace’s partner, Antonio D’Amico.

By Jeff Daly/FX.

The Chi

After breaking out on Master of None and winning a historic Emmy for one of this year’s best TV episodes, Lena Waithe is ready to claim her spot in the prestige-TV realm. Enter The Chi, her Showtime series about young people coming of age in Chicago, set to premiere on Jan. 7.

By Matt Dinerstein/SHOWTIME.

A Wrinkle in Time

The classic Madeleine L’Engle tale is finally coming to the big screen on March 9, 2018, thanks to Disney and director Ava DuVernay. The sci-fi story about a girl tesseracting her way through time to find her missing father will star newcomer Storm Reid alongside stars like Oprah Winfrey,Mindy Kaling,Reese Witherspoon, and Chris Pine.

By Atsushi Nishijima/Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios.

Solo: A Star Wars Story

After some catastrophic ups and downs, Han Solo’s origin story will finally be revealed to us on May 25, 2018. The Star Wars spin-off stars Alden Ehrenreich as the galactic smuggler and also features Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian and Emilia Clarke playing a mysterious character named Kira.